In recent years, industrial and military computers have become increasingly prevalent in many industries. It is not uncommon today to see rows of high performance computers, or servers, arranged in racks or specialized computers in mining or sensitive deployed military application. These computers, as well as other electronic devices and their peripherals, increasingly need more and more power. With increased power, typically comes an increase in electrical noise, which has an undesirable impact on the operation of equipment within the area. These pieces of equipment are typically sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. The levels being discussed here are well below the conventional concerns typically dealt with by compliance to UL, FCC, TUV, CE and CSA EMC standards. The need for complying with the lower levels are entirely due to the application the computers are being used. While many of these industrial and military power supplies are often designed and manufactured to higher standards than typical power supplies for consumer electronics and computers, they still are occasionally insufficient to meet the even higher military and commercial aviation standards such as MIL-STD-461 and DO-160. MIL-STD-461 is a United States Military Standard that describes, among other things, how to test equipment for electromagnetic compatibility. DO-160, Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment, is a standard for environmental tests of avionics hardware published by RTCA, Incorporated. Both of these documents are used to help power supply designers create EMC compliant products.
It is also common for computer power supplies to meet the Advanced Technology eXtended (ATX) specification for motherboards and associated power supplies.
However, the increasing power needs and the physical size and volume limitations of the industrial standard form factor has posed a formidable challenge for high power (greater than 300 Watts) 18-36 volt or higher power supplies which meet both the MIL-STD-461 and the DO-160, while still meeting the ATX industry specification, as one example. Solving this problem in a unique way has created a broader application of a method to create compact EMC compliant power sources for these industries. Minimizing the conducted and radiated susceptibility paths from the rear connector of the power source to the filter mechanism, typically a common mode or differential mode choke, can provide the greatest EMC benefit in a power supply front end filter system.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for connecting the connector to the primary EMI filter in a system. This problem has prevented the industry from supplying a minimum of 300 watts at a minimum of 18 Volts, power from within an industry standard form factor, such as a 1U ATX, while simultaneously meeting the ATX specification and both the MIL-STD-461 and the DO-160 specifications, all done in a reliable and cost efficient manner.